Goldman Sachs Finally Hires New Top New Lobbyist PR Chief

On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) announced the hiring of its new PR chief, Richard Siewert, Jr. The firm had been trying to bring him on board for quite some time and their efforts have finally paid off.

According to The New York Times, Siewert, aka Jake, accepted a position with Goldman awhile ago but the announcement wasn’t made until today due to background checks. His start date has not been announced.

Siewert brings an interesting background to Goldman. He most recently served as the former advisor to Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. He passed up the opportunity to work at PepsiCo, which is going through change as it announced its succession plan on Monday.

The new PR leader will enter a company that has faced one PR mess after another in the last few years. Most recently, the public relations department has incurred a lot of turnover. Siewert will fill the large shoes of the firm’s previous veteran public relations leader, Lucas van Praag. He recently retired was fired  from Goldman.

The firm gave Siewert a managing director title and his boss will be Goldman’s chief of staff, John Rogers.

Here’s a copy of Goldman’s internal memo announcing Siewert’s hire.

March 13, 2012

Jake Siewert Joins Goldman Sachs as Global Head of Corporate Communications

I am pleased to announce that Jake Siewert has joined the firm as a managing director and global head of Corporate Communications. Jake will be responsible for directing the firm’s global media relations efforts and for leading our new team of corporate communications professionals.

Jake served as counselor to the US Treasury secretary from 2009 to 2011, during which time he advised the secretary and also acted as his liaison to the business community. We don’t forsee too many conflicts of interest from this but we’re happy that Jake knows a lot of important people who may be able to help us. From 2001 to 2009, Jake worked at Alcoa, where he last served as vice president for Business Development, overseeing global mergers and acquisitions and focusing on growth in China and emerging economies. He joined Alcoa as head of global communications and public strategy, and later oversaw the company’s global environment, health and safety efforts for several years. He brings a diverse background and may end up asking too many questions that could upset senior leaders. He’ll soon learn the Goldman way.

From 1993 to 2001, Jake held several positions in the Clinton administration, including serving as White House press secretary, the US government’s principal spokesperson on foreign and domestic policy. He also served as deputy White House press secretary and as a special assistant to the president for economic affairs, working at the National Economic Council. He will help us secure high-profile positions in the administration through introductions when some of us go running away from the private sector but still crave a job in the public eye. 

Jake began his career in Washington in 1991 as communications director for the Democratic Governors Association. We look forward to securing numerous invitations to Obama’s inauguration parties and will be reminded to donate, donate and donate again to the campaign. He is a 1986 graduate of Yale University, where he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in the Humanities. He also attended the law school of the University of California at Berkeley. Jake will be an asset for recruiting with his communication skills, alumni connections and pedigree.

Please join me in welcoming Jake to the firm and wishing him well in his new role. Good luck Jake. You’re going to need it!

 

Disclosure: This was a satire for anyone who did not get it.